We didn’t send out Christmas cards this year for two reasons:
1. The address book is packed in a box that I apparently haven’t unpacked.
and
2. Our family photos typically look like this
So, please know that you haven’t been forgotten or removed from the mailing list.
We love you.
Merry Christmas!
– Matt, Jeannie & Abby
For about the hundreth time yesterday, I heard someone say “If we can just get through the holidays, then…”. While I understand the sentiment, it overwhelms me with sadness.
Christmas isn’t a trial to survive. It isn’t just another day on the calendar. It shouldn’t be item #38 on our to-do list.
Christmas is a time for remembrance and thankfulness and love and joyful anticipation.
So why do we think that Christmas is standing in our way? Why do we act like Christmas is a meeting we wish we could cancel?
Something is wrong if we strive to get through Christmas and back to our daily lives instead of wanting to get through our daily lives and back to Christmas.
I love Christmas. The meaning of it, the traditions, exchanging gifts, the songs and food. But the way we’ve celebrated Christmas in the past few decades, the way we celebrated last year, is a relatively new way of living.
There was a time when Christmas morning brought presents that weren’t trivial. Gifts often held new versions of worn out items. Things that helped with warmth, work, and education. December 25th offered up toys that had been wished for all year.
That’s not exactly how most of us are living these days.
Now it seems almost a burden to make a Christmas list. Nearly everyone gives “nothing” as their answer to “What do you want for Christmas?” Shopping for gifts becomes tedious and stressful.
Do I desire nothing for Christmas because I’m so satisfied with what I already have? Unfortunately, no. It’s because in all our low-middle class wealth, I want for nothing.
We buy things so often that we have destroyed the concept of anticipation.
So we, like many others, have chosen to scale down our gift giving this Christmas. I can’t remember a year when we didn’t discuss taking it easy, but this time we’re actually following through with our plans.
Personally, my decision stemmed from realizing that while there are many things I’d love to receive, things I’d cherish and enjoy, there are few things I really want.
And things I need? Nope. There are none of those.
I have a home filled with food, a family filled with love, and a savior filled with grace.
I am already blessed beyond measure.
But those are words often said and not always believed. Even when I’m the one saying them.
So tonight, I wondered how to put my material blessings into perspective. What would it take for me to understand even the tip of the iceberg that is my riches?
And then it came to me.
What if from December 26 until December 25 of the following year, what if every single non-essential purchase I made was wrapped and stored in my closet until Christmas morning?
Would a single closet offer enough space? Would I need a room to hold it all?
All the clothes.
The makeup.
The coffee mugs.
The decorations.
The movies and books and music.
The soft blankets.
The soaps and candles.
The fabric.
The chocolate.
The journals and the sharpies.
What if I saved it all for Christmas Day?
How would I feel upon seeing the boxes and bags stacked around the Christmas tree?
I can’t help but wonder, would the abundance bring me joy or shame?
Only a few hours left this year… how has it been nearly a decade since I was wondering if I should withdraw the few dollars I had in the bank before the millenium arrived?
My goal was to get Christmas pictures on the blog before 2009, so I’m sliding in at the last minute. We had a great holiday… a few short trips to see family, lots of good food, and very little time spent shopping!
Abby’s favorite presents this year: a toy kitchen (thanks DaddyDan, GranAnn, Nana and Daddy B!) and a treasure box full of bandaids (thanks GranKathy and Boompa!).
Our little family:
Waiting as patiently as possible for Nana and B to open presents:
Playing with her new toy while wearing her new backpack:
Gift Idea #3
For Matt- anything that comes with a remote control.
I may not have married a man who watches sports central 24/7 (and for that I am forever grateful) but I did apparently commit my life to a man who isn’t becoming more mature in his toy preferences.
Cars, helicopters, airplanes… any item that can be controlled by remote and used to torment both our cat and our child is the perfect present for Matt.
Gift Idea #2
For Abby- Scarlet Macaw Cereal.
What might that be, you ask? Oh, that’s just what my child insists on calling Fruit Loops.
Yep- Scarlet Macaw Cereal.
She loves it. For breakfast, for snack, with milk, without milk.
Perhaps we could stuff her stocking with the little snack size boxes? That, or we could use Scarlet Macaw Cereal instead of popcorn to thread onto string and hang on the Christmas Tree.
Some of you out there like to get a head start on Christmas shopping… I understand the desire, I’ve tried to do it, I just can’t. I’ve actually been successful before- I had all my shopping done before Thanksgiving. Do you know what happened? I just ended up buying more things after Thanksgiving. I can’t not shop or make gifts or wrap presents in the month of December.
So instead of trying to do my shopping now I’m just going to start posting ideas for gifts when they come to me. I’m hoping by December 1st I’ll have a great list of presents and I won’t spend countless hours wandering helplessly through the stores.
Gift Idea #1
For Abby- boxes and boxes of band aids. The kid loves band aids. All sizes, colors, shapes. She sticks them on bruises, scrapes, perfectly healthy skin, and on every stuffed animal that has a loose thread. Perfect stocking stuffer. Immediately useful for any paper cuts that come from opening presents.
Snowberry Life 